Sunday, July 05, 2015

Fr. Perrone: this is no time for oblivion or indolence

I wonder how cognizant people are about the
true state of things at this time. My guess is that they are not much
aware, or at least not all that much troubled by them. I’ve avoided
apocalyptic warnings to you for the good reason that they would be
false. Only God knows for sure when the travail of the final days will
be upon us. This does not mean, however, that there cannot be a time
great turmoil in the world–a time of disturbances which afflict the
entire societal body in the political, moral, and religious areas of
life–which is to say, in every aspect.

The near collapse of order in beneficent
government, national and worldwide, in societal structures, in
education, the military, in law and judiciary, in education and arts, in
economy and–hard to admit it–even in the Church, does not seem overmuch
to worry many people, because they’ve been lulled into reverie by an
enveloping, all-pervading
sensuality. The palliative effect of pleasures which distract our minds
and cloud our judgment tends to make us oblivious to the disorder all
around us: the effect being much like an anaesthetic on a body suffering
some pathological condition. Pain is a warning that something’s amiss
that needs remedying. Covering over problems with blithe distractions
from sensual comforts allows decay unattended to advance, to worsen.

Men’s ambition and pride lead to resentment of
authority; their inclination towards evil, and especially towards sexual
indulgence, leads them to want to give way to outpourings of their
lawless passions (anger, lust and disregard for law and discipline); and
these in turn make men turn away from God and prepare them to become
practical atheists, which is to say, agnostics. It is only at this last
phase that we begin to see clearly that there’s more than human ambition
and weakness behind the ensuing general disorder–that it is demonically
inspired. In any case, whether we are willing to believe in the Enemy’s
hand in this or not, we are all feeling the effects of the advancing
chaos in the disharmony in our marriages and families, in our
ineffective educational attempts in our schools, in the squeeze that
holds our money and property, in the ever-wider
encroachment of big government over more and more aspects of our lives,
in the disturbances and discomfort we are feeling by being in a Godless
public, in the uncertainty and fears we experience as ominous, impending
calamity, in the division in the Church, etc.

Much more needs to be said about these things
that can’t be aired here. But my reasons for bringing them up are 1) to
assure that all this is not right, is not normal, and is
decidedly deadly for continuance in an ordered world; 2) to speculate
about what the right response should be in the face of this distorted
scene. Responses are basically of two kinds: a) offensive action which
seeks to rectify the troubles by opposing the many seducing errors and
the moral decay; b) prayer and sacrifice, both for restoration of order
and for making reparation for damages already done. These two forms are
often posed as being in tension with each other: the ‘direct
confrontation approach’ or the more ‘indirect’ and (seemingly)
‘passive.’ In truth, I can’t say that there is an alternative: both are
needed. We need front-line fighters
and we need prayer-warriors (pardon
that gooey expression). What we cannot do is to become idle and numb,
indifferent and unconcerned, allowing evil to go unopposed, and thus to
advance.

If I am undecided about which of these to
recommend to you the more, I would, as your pastor, say at least this
much with utter confidence: you must stop your own slinking into
the myriad forms of evil that are rotting souls. You simply cannot give
way to your passions–which are the internal originators of all the
disorder and chaos in society and in the Church. You, in simple terms,
have got to oppose the sinful inclinations that induce you to commit
your sins. Never mind the terrible things other people are doing, how
bad the world is getting, how dizzying the turmoil in the Church. Be
saintly, and do not budge from the way of righteousness. Be tough on
yourselves and be holy people. The reform of the world begins with you,
in your own soul. Then, and only then, should you proceed with your plan
of righting the wrongs of others. This program is a version of what our
Lord Himself said: remove the plank in your own eye before removing the
splinter in the eyes of others.

Don’t mistake my meaning. I am not suggesting
that we should not oppose the tremendous evils that are upsetting the
God-willed harmony and order of the
world and the Church. We must oppose these. Nor am I saying that we
should not be making the much-needed
Eucharistic holy hours to appease divine justice and petition divine
intervention. We, however, must not be hypocrites, outwardly valiant and
righteous but inwardly unconverted. What is inexcusable is indolence and
apathy and, of course, complicity in the great movement to overthrow the
God-given order of truth, goodness,
beauty, and holiness, a movement which is not fundamentally a thing but
a destructive and malevolent person who rails against God and seeks to
frustrate His plans for the salvation of the human race.

Fr. Perrone

P.S. This will be my last Descant for a
while as I take my summertime lease for mental and physical refreshment.
Fr. John, to whom I confidently entrust your pastoral care, will no
doubt graciously supply in my absence.